Wally Funk's Race for Space: The Extraordinary Story of a Female Aviation Pioneer

"Nelson’s book isn’t a history or a biography, but an account of a strange encounter. She spent a long time travelling with and recording Wally Funk, one of the first female American astronaut trainees, for a radio programme. Although Funk had passed her training with flying colours, she was never allowed to go into space because it was decided at that time early in the space programme that only the men should go. It was sexism, of course, and an injustice that seems to have haunted Wally her whole life. Nelson shows how Wally still lives in the pure hope that she will one day go into space, that her dream—her right—to be an astronaut will somehow happen. It’s heartbreaking and touching, but also inspirational."